The fire crackles, the tea flows, and the treats are plentiful. On this frosty June Tuesday in 2025, Quan Zhu Ma’s hospitality is second-to-none at his Squatter’s Cottage residency. Ma welcomes a handful of guests for some morning cheer including local Koichi Ishino (Australian / Japanese 17 x Sculpture by the Sea artist who lives in Lithgow), Sandy Bliim (previous Squatter’s Artist in Residence and Sculpture by the Sea artist too), Harrie Fasher with The Bird by her side and myself too. Creative communities cluster here, with The Foundations becoming a beacon for artists from locals to return Artists-in-Residence.
The work Ma is creating spreads across the tables inside and out; layers the walls and even blazes away in the fire as we chat. Whether part of a new sculpture or drawing, Ma’s process is deeply entwined with fire. He has selected fallen wood from The Foundation’s site to scorch into sculptures; burnt charcoal remnants to embed into plaster cores; and produced ash to include in his drawings and sculptures. “It’s a great place to work,” Ma says, “and not worry too much about the mess”. The beauty of the largely unrenovated nature of the Squatter’s Cottage lends such comfort to creativity. Ma is, though, full of care too. His attentiveness is reflected in both his creative precision and his pro handling of a vacuum cleaner.
His sculptural work here at The Squatters Cottage of charcoal-remains fixed in plaster extends from his National Art School (NAS) Master’s work. Of his NAS Master’s Samsara Series, Ma writes the “element of chance and surprise is, to me, the essence of the artwork’s allure”. In these works, wood he has fired into charcoal is encased in plaster and then cut open. Ma’s creative language clearly expresses his roots. He lived the first half of his 70 years in China with initial training in graphic design. The dramatic interplay of the black and white materials set together in his work are precisely revealed through slicing, evoking the aesthetics of traditional Chinese calligraphy. Ma is philosophical too about his work combining the five Chinese elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Ma writes “Samsara is the Sankrit term meaning ‘cyclic change’ and in Buddhism, it refers to the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth”. His Samsara Series Master’s body of work led to Ma receiving the 2024 Foundations Squatter’s Residency Prize to a NAS Masters student. Previous recipients have included Alison Smith (2023), Mei Zhao (2022), Sadhbha Cockburn (2022) and TC Overson (2021) who each took up residencies at The Squatter’s Cottage in the following year with TC continuing at The Foundations to coordinate the Squatter’s Residency program and more until 2024.
Following Ma’s openness in showing his works in progress to this group of artists, he experiences more fire in process at The Foundations being generosity invited to Harrie Fasher’s Foundry. For today is a bronze pour at the Foundry, where fellow artist’s Stephen Hogan, Annabel Mason and Ellen Ferrier and local farmer Geoff Salmon tool up with Harrie at the helm. On any given day in Harrie Fasher’s Foundry, these and a whole bunch more “courageous characters and authentic souls driven by creativity and connection”, as described by Harrie Fasher are creating away. There is an ever-evolving extraordinary creative community at The Foundations currently including those mentioned on the tools above and Martin Oldfield, Aiya Dreaming, Kim Fasher, Lotte Thompson-Vock, Lindsey and Justin Morrissey.
Like many residents before him, Ma fosters connection and welcomes other visiting artists to The Foundations too. Morris Yang, Sydney Art school tutor is seen by locals plein air painting in the main street of Portland and Mei Zhao who also experienced the joys of a Squatter’s Residency in the cold, drops off some prized dumplings.
Portland in Winter is not for everyone, but Ma says sitting by the fire has allowed him to calm his active brain and practice deep thinking. He’s been grateful for a winter residency and says he wants to return to The Squatter’s in the cold again, where he can continue this dialogue creating with the fire.
The work that Ma creates at The Foundation’s will no doubt make its way into various exhibitions. His work is in no less than five exhibitions this year alone including:
– Gesture and Trace, a collaborative exhibition with Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts and the National Art School, National Art School Building 25 Project Space 12 April – 2 May 2025
https://nas.edu.au/gesture-and-trace/
– Emanate: Recent National Art School Graduates, New England Regional Art Museum, 13 June – 10 August 2025
https://www.neram.com.au/event/emanate-recent-national-art-school-graduates/
– Chaotic Harmony hanging in the window at 4th Wall Gallery, 200 Parramatta Rd, July 2025
https://www.instagram.com/p/DLggOV3zg9T/?img_index=3
– New Voices 2025 National Art School Graduates Group show, CBD Gallery Sydney, 17 July – 16 August 2025 and
https://www.instagram.com/p/DMWV-_szZ11/?img_index=3
https://www.instagram.com/p/DMPmSzUzfXa/?img_index=19
– an exhibition coming up at Willoughby Art Centre & Ewart Gallery
Further links
https://www.instagram.com/p/DBc6ZcHMztm/?hl=en&img_index=2
https://pgshow24.nas.edu.au/collections/quan-zhu-ma
https://www.instagram.com/quanzhu_ma/
Story and image credit: Nic Mason, Quan Zhu Ma and his work in process at the Squatter’s Residency Cottage June 2025 with Harrie Fasher, Koichi Ishino, Sandy Bliim and The Bird and Ma at Harrie Fasher’s Foundry with Harrie Fasher, Ellen Ferrier, Annabel Mason, Stephen Hogan, Koichi Ishino and Geoff Salmon.
